2002 OFC Nations Cup
The 2002 OFC Nations Cup took place in New Zealand, between 5 and 14 July 2002.
| 2002 OFC Kapu o Kīngitanga | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | New Zealand |
| Dates | 5–14 July |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New Zealand (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Australia |
| Third place | Tahiti |
| Fourth place | Vanuatu |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 64 (4 per match) |
| Attendance | 16,700 (1,044 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Bobby Despotovski Joel Porter Chris Killen Jeff Campbell (5 goals) |
The competition was divided into two group stages, with a knockout tournament at the end. Before the tournament, 11 of the nations were seeded according to their 2001 FIFA ranking, while New Caledonia was placed last by default, as it was not a FIFA member.
The six lowest-ranked teams took part in the first stage of qualifying, in which the two highest placed teams at the end of the round-robin stage gained qualification to the second group stage, made up of the six highest-ranked teams. The remaining eight teams were then split into two groups of four, with the top two nations from each group progressing to the knockout stage.
Australia failed to defend the title they won in 2000. They were beaten by New Zealand in the final, with Ryan Nelsen scoring the winning goal.